Sunday, November 18, 2012
Kabul (BNA) Afghanistan and USA have started their negotiations on security co-operations in Kabul aiming to provide a ground for concluding an agreement in that end.
BNA commentator writes in that regard:
Afghan and American diplomats on Thursday November 15 started the first round of their negotiations on security co operations with great optimism and strong will.
After signing the strategic agreements, the two countries, discuss the ways of security co operations in order to legalize and determine the presence and the security co-operations of America to Afghanistan after 2014.
Eklil Hakimi Afghan ambassador to Washington and the assistant of USA special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan are representing their country in the negotiations.
Diplomats and politicians believe, maintaining national sovereignty, realizing the basic objectives of Afghan people, strengthening Afghan forces, ensuring security across the country are the main objectives of the talks.
The negotiations are starting in a time, while Afghanistan has already signed strategic cooperation agreements with a number of countries, among them USA.
In the agreements the ways of theirs co operations have been describe to Afghanistan, the country which is persistently facing the endless foreign interferences, suffering from insecurities rooted in outsiders’ interferences and its defense system is not in the situation to be compared with the countries of the region. Unfortunately in spite of concluding the strategic agreements, Afghanistan is still an insecure place in the region and has not yet succeeded to use contents of those strategic agreements to its interests.
Now, while, talks on security co operations are underway, our people are emphasizing on this crucial point that the outcome the negotiations should guarantee the maintenance of our national sovereignty and to meet the basic relevant objectives of Afghanistan and not be just on the paper as security co-operations agreement.
The process of negotiations with United States was full of challenges and required a long time, because Islamic Republic of Afghanistan insisted on ending the nightly operations and handing over the responsibility of Bagram prison to Afghan security forces.
Finally the American side answered the Afghans’ demands positively and the presidents of the two countries signed the strategic agreement in Kabul.
Afghan political veterans emphasize that on establishing security co-operations the Afghan government should work patiently and with great care because there are important issues to be considered. In the first step, any agreement between the two countries should be practical and to be carried out in practice and the other party consider itself as a partner of Afghan security issues, in order to remove the concerns of Afghanistan from foreign interferences and aggressions, to end missile and artillery attacks on Afghan border areas and in case of possible continuation of activities of US troops in Afghanistan, the ways of the trial of American troops who violate the norm and standers in this country should be determined, because in the past it has been seen that even some foreign troops have killed Afghan innocent civilians, but the process of the trial of such criminals have never satisfied the families of the victims and the local authorities.
The negotiations on security co operations, should address the above concerns in order to ensure the satisfaction and trust of Afghan people and also, determine the judicial immunity of troops who violate the national and international norms.
In the other hand, Afghanistan is located in specific geographical region, therefore, any contract and treaty should consider a balance on regional demands. This issue is at focus of attention of Afghan authorities, as Mr. Eklil Hakimi the head of Afghan delegation in security cooperation talks made it clear that the security cooperation between Afghanistan and American is not against the third county.
Afghan political circles emphasize that Afghanistan as a country which has been the target of foreign interference for years need a strong supporter. Therefore we hope the current negotiations lead to a signing of a document to ensure the national interests of the two countries and meet the aspirations of Afghan suffering people.
Khalil Minawi BNA Director
